The present invention relates to an accessory or attachment for semi-automatic firearms, and more particularly to an accessory removably attached to the trigger guard of a conventional semi-automatic firearm allowing the user to achieve burst firing of the firearm.
Semi-automatic firearms presently available on the market do not permit burst firing of several rounds of ammunition through a single pull of the trigger. Only military weapons are provided with control means, generally associated with a safety, which permit, at will, either single shot firing of the weapon or burst firing according to the selected firing mode.
Private ownership of automatic firearms generally violates the firearm registration laws of the United States. Conversion of semi-automatic firearms into automatic firearms through reconstruction or modification of the trigger and sear mechanism, and possession of such converted firearms is also prohibited under the United States registration laws for firearms. However, it is permissible to convert a conventional semi-automatic firearm to one capable of firing a short burst of rounds through repeated actuation of the trigger, thus duplicating the normal action of a finger during normal rapid firing of the weapon.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,808, there is disclosed a burst firing attachment consisting of a device removably attached to the firearm trigger guard. The device comprises a crank rotating a rotor operating a striker rod. The striker rod projects against the firearm trigger and is reciprocated by lobes or cams on the rotor, when the crank is rotated.
While such a device accomplishes the purpose of permitting burst firing of a firearm, rotation of the crank with one hand while attempting to hold and stabilize the firearm with another hand is "unnatural" and awkward, is disruptive of careful aiming, and may somewhat be considered as being dangerous as the crank may be accidentally rotated, or may become caught in clothing or in bushes.